Taffy of Torpedo Junction (Chapel Hill Books)

This is a lovely story about WWII in an area off coast of North Carolina. History and cool story for kids. I read as a kid and got for my kids.

The writer, Mrs. Wechter, was my 7th grade science teacher, and I really, really liked her. She cut off a piece of my hair one day and taped it to the bottom of a clear glass paperweight on her desk. I was one of her favorite students. I bought the book for my granddaughter (we have a condominium on Oak Island, NC and we love the coast). As it turns out, my granddaughter (a 4th grader) was required to make a book report at school and to my delight, she chose this book. She wasn't familiar with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Adolf Hitler, the German U-Boats (several which are sunk off the coast of North Carolina), or World War II and it gave me the opportunity to give her some history which I think is lost in today's schools. I must say that I am a proud veteran and she is very proud of me being a proud veteran. At any rate, she and I read the book together and she was engrossed each time we would read a chapter. When she gave her report to her class, she dressed up as Taffy and also presented a map of the ships that were sunk by the U-Boats off the North Carolina coast as well as pictures of a German U-Boat resting on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean that had been sunk by a US Coast Guard depth charge. She received a grade of 112% as a result (extra credits for dressing the part and the props). I guess I would say that I would highly recommend this book to 4th grade students.

Even though I lived within fifty miles of Torpedo Junction for most of my youth, I never knew about this story! In the book, the author tells about how the Germans used their deadly U-boats to sink hundreds of cargo ships bound for Europe during WWII. This area of the Atlantic near Cape Hatteras was already known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" prior to WWII. But the Germans took advantage of this dangerous stretch of the Atlantic near Diamond Shoals in order to prevent supplies from leaving America and reaching Europe. Those of us who are familiar with Cape Hatteras will recognize many of the landmarks described in this story. The main character is a young girl, who (with the help of her trained Banker horse) is responsible for saving the lives of sailors whose ships were torpedoed--and eventually she helped the Coast Guard capture the enemy.The author, Nell Wise Wechter, lived on the Outer Banks where she taught school for several years. She captures the brogue of the locals perfectly! Reading this story made me feel like I was actually there on the island during this era. My saddest moment was the realization that I had never heard of this author or this book before. I would have loved to have met Mrs. Wechter and talked with her! She was an exceptional person.I highly recommend this book, especially for middle graders who are interested in studying about WWII.

Taffy of Torpedo Junction is the fascinating story of a free-spirited young girl who roamed the Outer Banks of North Carolina with her pony "Sailor" and her boxer dog "Brandy" during World War II. During this nearly forgotten early phase of the war, German submarines were freely sinking ships and oil tankers in the Graveyard of the Atlantic off of Cape Hatteras.Taffy's inquisitive nature gets her involved with and captured by some enemy agents in the exciting finale of the story.Written as Juvenile Fiction, Taffy can also be enjoyed by older persons with a young heart and an interest in an earlier American lifestyle on the undeveloped Outer banks.Taffy was modeled after the life of an original native who still tells the story of her early years to summer tourists on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Parts of the narrative are written in the quaint old Elizabethan dialect that can still be heard in the smaller fishing villages along the coast.

I was born and raised in the Carolinas. This story combines two of my loves: The Outer Banks, which I classify as a second home to me, and WWII. This book is an easy read which is hard to put down. I recommend for all ages. "Taffy of Torpedo Junction" is a heroic tale about a young girl named Taffy and her exciting adventures on Hatteras Island in the 1940's; from watching U-Boats sink along the coast, to playing detective and catching a Nazi spy, Taffy's adventures are guaranteed to please! I believe the history lover in your life would see this book as a great read! With old-style Banks dialect, and Southern charm, "Taffy" brings the love of the Carolinas into a new light!

I liked it.

This was written professionally. With many facts about World War Two. A very great book. I loved it. Maybe a little more detail would have been good

there were some details that are not copyrighted and are in the public domain. It's a good story about a time in the when World War 2 came to the U.S. Shores.